Kidnapping survivors react to Jayme Closs’ escape

As news spread that Jayme Closs was alive and safe, almost immediately, thoughts turned to another celebrated case. “When we hear that Jayme has been found, how wonderful, what–another miracle,” Ed Smart told CBS News senior national correspondent Jim Axelrod. Ed Smart knows well the anguish of waiting for a child to come home. “You know, night after night, you just want to wake up and this is a bad dream and its going away, he said. It was 2002, when his 14-year-old -daughter Elizabeth Smart was snatched from her Utah bedroom. It was one of the most publicized and memorable child abductions. It took 9 months of searching and sorrow before the Smart family could celebrate Elizabeth’s safe return. “They took me to this room, and when they opened the door and she was there, I just–I couldn’t believe it,” he said. Elizabeth had been abducted by Brian David Mitchell, whom the Smarts briefly hired to do work in their home. Mitchell and his wife held Elizabeth captive, hidden and disguised. These stories are indelible—and while rare, still too frequent for those involved. JOHN PAUL GETTY III There was the case of John Paul Getty III, the grandson of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, who was kidnapped in 1973 at age 16. The story was told in the movie “All the Money in the World.” Held by the Mafia in Italy, his ear was chopped off. Eventually a ransom was paid and he was… [Read full story]